Of Gauchos and City Life

Buenos Aires is considered the Paris of Latin America. Featuring buildings steeped in history, charming alleyways and a plethora of camera-equipped tourists, the comparison is justified. Visitors who travel a little further afield will get a chance to experience traditional gaucho life that still exists today.

Music fills the streets of Argentina resounding in every alleyway, including in the capital of Buenos Aires. Couples dancing the tango pose for photographs in the famous La Boca neighbourhood. The colourful corrugated metal houses, the bustling ambiente and the famous “La Bombonera” football stadium provide a perfect postcard backdrop of the city.

Remembering Evita

Apart from La Boca, the Casa Rosada presidential palace is today, still, one of the most important landmarks of Buenos Aires. It is where Evita Perón once stood on the palace balcony and addressed the crowds. Situated behind the palace is the harbour district Puerto Madero, and in front of it the Plaza de Mayo, which is the main square of the capital. The city’s most famous theatre, the Teatro Colón, is just a short walk from the square.

A green oasis offering plenty of shade

It hardly ever gets cold in Buenos Aires. For fans of summer, the best time to visit is between November and March. As for the rest of the year, temperatures are pleasantly mild. Even in July, which is the coldest month, the average temperature is 15 degrees Celsius. If ever it does get hot, an outing to the Buenos Aires Botanical Garden in the Palermo neighbourhood is recommended. Lush green and plenty of shade provide the ideal conditions for relaxing from the busy big city.

Ice in the Andes

Travellers wishing to get more value for their Argentinian pesos than (by comparison) expensive city life, or who simply have more time at their disposal, are warmly recommended to consider touring the country. A visit to Patagonia, for example, where blissful solitude and breathtaking landscapes are guaranteed. That being said, visitors must expect cooler temperatures in the Andes. When visiting the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, for instance. Temperatures are even frostier in the Santa Cruz province, which is home to the impressive Perito Moreno Glacier and, thus, to one of Argentina’s most important tourist attractions. Just like their predecessors a century ago, many gauchos still live and tend to their cattle herds in this barren region where the population density is two inhabitants per square kilometre. Wine enthusiasts should make a point of visiting Mendoza, Argentina’s most important wine region. The final highlight of any tour is a visit to the Iguazú Falls in the Argentine province of Misiones: a unique and stunning spectacle of nature; to be cherished for life.

Information for golf fans

A holiday that includes golf, or a golfing holiday? What a great decision to have to make! Let our golf tips inspire and inform you:

• Edelweiss golf tips